On September 16, NCHS Swim Team competed at the West Jones “Be the Light” Invitational Meet in Laurel. An astounding 29 high schools attended with over 400 swimmers competing. On September 23, NCHS competed in the “Rumble on the River” Meet hosted by Vicksburg/Warren Central.
At Vicksburg, Captain Ashlee McCall finished first in the 200 yd Freestyle with a 12-second lead. Later McCall swam the 100 yd Freestyle where she was not expected to win. The top seed had an entry time 2 seconds faster than McCall. If McCall was worried, she showed no sign of it when she stepped up on the block. When the horn blew, McCall exploded off the block and swam her race with perfection. McCall cut 4 seconds off her best time, overtook her opponent by a 2 second lead, and finished in first place. At the Laurel meet, McCall cut 24 seconds off her best time in the 200 yd Individual Medley and 8 seconds off her best 100 yd Backstroke time.
At the Laurel meet, Mason Cheatham broke the NCHS swimming record for the Boys 200 yd IM and the 100 yd Backstroke.
At the Vicksburg meet, Cheatham swam the 500 yd Freestyle. In the first 50 yards, he took a commanding lead that he would extend each and every 50 yards. By the 300-yard mark, he had literally lapped all of his opponents. Upon winning the race, Cheatham had to watch and wait for more than 49 seconds before the next fastest swimmer touched the wall. Not a surprise, this was a new NCHS Swimming Record.
Cheatham followed this swim up with two more NCHS Swimming Records in the 100 yd Butterfly and in the 100 yd Freestyle as the first leg of the Boys 400 yd Freestyle Relay.
At the Laurel meet, Mason’s younger brother, Maddux Cheatham cut 22 seconds off his best time in the 200 yd Freestyle.
Shana Johnson and Abby Johnson, who both just started competitive swimming this year, qualified for the North State Championships in the 50 yd Freestyle.
All new North State qualifying times from these two meets include: Ashlee McCall – 100 yd Backstroke, 200 yd IM, 200 yd Freestyle, 100 yd Freestyle; Edie Pippen – 500 yd Freestyle, 100 yd Breaststroke, 200 yd IM, 100 yd Backstroke, 100 yd Freestyle; Maddux Cheatham – 100 yd Freestyle, 500 yd Freestyle, 200 Freestyle; Mason Cheatham – 100 yd Freestyle, 500 yd Freestyle, 200 yd IM, 100 yd Backstroke, 100 yd Butterfly; Easton Baker – 100 yd Backstroke, 200 yd IM; Gage Barnett – 200 yd freestyle, 100 yd Backstroke; Shana Johnson – 50 yd Freestyle
Abbie Johnson – 50 yd Freestyle; The Girls 400 yd Freestyle Relay (Pippin, Rhaley Easley, Erin Tullos, McCall); and The Boys 400 yd Freestyle Relay (Mason Cheatham, Barnett, Zyren Shannon, Maddux Cheatham).
